African countries are missing an opportunity to work closer together to boost trade and infrastructure
Sub-Saharan Africa
Posted inNews/Politics
Education the key pillar in Madagascar’s development agenda
Sub-Saharan African countries are increasingly recognising the contribution of post-basic education to economic growth and social development. However, policy makers in many developing world nations struggle to balance expansion and upgrading of post-basic education reform against competing development priorities. They must consider how — and sometimes whether — to fund post-basic education in the face […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Youth employment, training outlook bleak
Sub-Saharan African countries show high rates of informal employment reaching up to 95%, while existing and interacting with relative weak economic development in the region. In addition, youths find difficulties entering into formal employment. Yet, unemployment rates and youth unemployment are only one indicator of the vulnerable position of young people in these labour markets […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Informal cross-border trade should be formalised
Despite being a source of income for many living on the African continent, as much as 43%, informal cross-border trade is regarded as illegal. Informal cross-border trade refers to trade in processed or non-processed merchandise that may be legal imports or exports on one side of the border and illicit on the other side and […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SA’s woes will ripple through region
Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has remained generally robust against the backdrop of a sluggish global economy. Regional output is projected to expand by at least 5% in 2012 to 2013, a similar pace to that recorded in 2010 to 2011. That being said, there is significant variation across the region, with solid expansion being recorded […]
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Investment flows back into Africa
Over the past 10 years, foreign direct investment (FDI) has helped boost sustainable economic growth in many African countries. In theory, FDI can assist to accentuate productive capacity, employment and exports. When properly managed, it can also bring secondary benefits in the form of transfers of technology, management expertise and marketing skills. With continued liberalisation […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Africa’s 2040 employment problem
Over the last decade, six of the world’s 10 fastest-growing economies were in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, there are troubling indicators that this exponential growth has not resulted in robust growth of “good” jobs. In other words, those offering higher wages and better working conditions – especially for the young. Exacerbated by a delayed demographic transition, […]
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State capacity key to economic growth
Historically, in the developing world, active macro-economic and industrial policy on the part of the state is more often than not greeted with pessimism and scepticism. This very prevalent competency and trust-deficit emanates from valid concerns that the state — specifically in the developing world — is often too inefficient and too corrupt (sometimes both) […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The importance of private sector growth and development in Africa
The private sector is Africa’s primary engine of growth. It generates an estimated 70 percent of Africa’s output, approximately two-thirds of its investment and 90 percent of employment on the continent. Based on these statistics supplied by the African Union (AU), the creation and development of private sector jobs is seen as one of the […]
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Levels of peace and stability on the African continent
The concept of “peace” has traditionally been abstract in definition. Perhaps the most workable methodology of approaching the concept of peace is to define it in terms of harmony achieved by the absence of war or conflict. This definition applied to nation states would purport that those countries not involved in violent conflicts with neighbouring […]
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Macroeconomic convergence within the SADC region
Since its evolution from the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) into the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Southern African regional formation has targeted gradually deepening its integration, starting with the creation of a free trade area in the coming decade. In addition to this free trade area, further goals such as the achievement […]
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Understanding the growing trend of large-scale land acquisitions in Africa
The exponential international interest in investing in African farmland has attracted considerable attention recently. A 2011 Africa Development Bank study notes that 29 million of the 56 million hectares of land – approximately 51.8 percent – sought after by foreign investors globally is located in sub-Saharan Africa. Though countries with abundant uncultivated land attracted the […]